According to tabulations by the National Weather Service office, Paducah received 3.27 inches of precipitation during December, January and February, but that was 8.8 inches short of the average total for the season. A normal winter total in western Kentucky is 9 to 13 inches.
It was also the driest winter ever for Carbondale, Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff.
Most of the region received 2 to 4 inches of precipitation. In western Kentucky, only Ballard and Calloway counties received more than 4 inches, and in southeast Missouri, some areas got less than 2 inches all winter. That's in spite of January's 4 to 14 inch snowstorm, which for most still melted down to less than an inch of additional liquid precipitation.
Paducah's 3-month shortfall included getting less than a half inch of precipitation for all of February.
As a result of the record deficit of precipitation, nearly our entire region is suffering from moderate drought conditions. Nearly all of Illinois and Missouri is included in areas of moderate to severe drought.
The coming week could help ease local drought conditions. A major shift in the weather pattern is finally allowing a full week of daily rain chances that could result in 2 or more inches of rain region wide.
On the Net:
NWS winter summaryNWS February summary
